Gayle Joslin, Board

In the same year that Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the Moon and 350,000 rock and roll fans attended Woodstock, Gayle Joslin became the first woman to enter Montana State University’s fish and wildlife program. She hit number one again in 1977 when she became the first female biologist at the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department. Her accomplishments for women and wildlife didn’t stop there.

Hunting, fishing and camping all came natural to Gayle Joslin, who grew up in an outdoorsy family around Helena, Montana. As a young woman, she added a new dimension to her outdoor experiences by becoming a cook at an outfitters camp where her father guided in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
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Jim Posewitz, Founder and Board Member

EDUCATION
(Jim came West on a football scholarship and remained in the state he grew to love.)
Bachelor of Science 1957; Master of Science 1961: Fish & Wildlife Management; Montana State University; Bozeman, Montana

MILITARY SERVICE
1957 - 1959 U. S. Army 3rd Infantry Division MOS Operations/Intelligence Assistant

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Executive Director, The Cinnabar Foundation
As Cinnabar's E.D. and only remaining founding board member, Jim is our heart and soul. He knows all the conservation groups, key players, conservation history, and burgeoning issues within our scope-Montana and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. His input and insight are invaluable as we annually sift through 75-100 grant applications. His energy and enthusiasm for our work seem boundless.
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Mark Hirvonen, President

Mark is a lifelong hunter, angler, and shooter who feels fortunate to have been born and raised in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

He spent most of his career in the soft drink, financial services and light metal industries. Mark has an extensive background in marketing, direct sales and operations management. In addition, he has served on numerous corporate boards, as well as regional and national brand and product development committees.
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Randy Newberg, Founding Board Member

Randy was raised hunting and fishing in Big Falls, MN. He moved to Bozeman, MT in 1991, where he continued his outdoor activities. He still lives there with his wife, Kimberly, and son, Matthew. He is an accountant at Guza, Newberg, & Hubley. Randy was the Chairman of the Gallatin-Madison chapter of Ducks Unlimited for five years, has served on the board of directors of Orion - The Hunter's Institute, since 1995, served as president from 1998 to 2003, and has been the treasurer from 2003 to the present.
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Jim Tantillo, Board

Married with two children, he has also held positions as executive director of the Tompkins County SPCA and as CEO of Historic Ithaca, a nonprofit historic preservation organization.
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Eric Nuse, Executive Director

Eric Nuse is the executive director of Orion - The Hunters’ Institute. He succeeded founder Jim Pozewitz in 2009 after serving as president. Orion is best known for its books and advocacy for fair chase hunting, hunter ethics and teaching hunting heritage. More than 500,000 copies of Beyond Fair Chase have been sold and are a mainstay in hunter education courses nationwide.

Eric also has facilitated a Think Tank sponsored by Orion and the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation to examine factors needed for ethical hunting and to differentiate hunter ethics from hunter preferences.

In addition, Eric runs a consulting business, working with state fish and wildlife agencies on hunter recruitment, hunter safety and ethics issues. He is in demand as an expert witness for high profile hunter-related shooting incidents in criminal and civil proceedings. Currently, Eric is working on a book ( Vermont Wild) about his experiences as a game warden, and he hosts the Fair Chase blog.
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John Organ, Board

John F. Organ is Chief of Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration for the Northeast Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He and his staff work directly with the 13 northeast states on implementation of the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration, Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration, State Wildlife Grants, and Endangered Species Recovery programs. John is also Adjunct Associate Professor of Wildlife Conservation at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where he received his Ph.D. in wildlife biology.

Pat Hudak, Board

Eric Nuse, executive director of Orion - The Hunter's Institute, announced the nonprofit organization's newest board member, Pat Hudak.

"With Pat's expertise in hunting issues and outdoor marketing, Orion - The Hunters' Institute will be able to take another step towards achieving its mission," Nuse said. "We're working diligently to become a leader in upholding our hunting heritage by providing intellectual leadership on hunting-related issues."
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Ingrid Nuse, Office Manager

Ingrid grew up in the shadow of Mount Mansfield, Vermont’s highest mountain. She is a outdoors’ woman with a passion for skiing, hiking, and canoeing. More recently she has taken up bow hunting and fishing, including a successful moose hunt. She enjoys hunting because they enhance her love of the outdoors. Nothing like a hunt to get you out enjoying sunrises, wildlife and getting some great organic, free ranging food.

She provides the administrative support for Orion and helped in making the move to Vermont a success. She brings years of teaching experience and administrative skills from the public and private sector to her Orion work.

Other duties include preparing daughter Liana for college, caring for a bunch of hens and a pair of cats. Not to mention keeping husband and ED Eric on track and working in the office occasionally.